Father, son acquitted in N.Y. of sex trafficking

Vincent George Jr., left, and Vincent George Sr., listen to closing arguments in a courtroom in New York on June 6. The father and son who acknowledged they were pimps were acquitted Wednesday, June 19, 2013 of sex trafficking charges after several prostitutes testified they were treated well. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

NEW YORK — A judge who heard prostitutes testify that a father-and-son pimp team made them feel like family cleared the two men of sex-trafficking charges Wednesday.

The men’s supporters in the courtroom cheered the verdict, but the gallery fell silent when Manhattan Judge Ruth Pickholtz announced convictions against Vincent George Sr. and Vincent George Jr. on charges they laundered millions of dollars through music recording and car service businesses. The pair showed no emotion aside from slight smiles as they were led back to jail in handcuffs.

George Sr., 56, and his 35-year-old son had faced possible 25-year terms on sex-trafficking charges accusing them of coercing women into becoming prostitutes. They still could get up to 15 years at sentencing on July 8 for the money laundering conviction.

Despite the mixed verdict, District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. called the outcome a victory.

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“The goal of the prosecution was to dismantle a criminal enterprise from top to bottom,” he said. “That goal has been achieved with the Georges. ... There is no fairy tale ending for these defendants.”

Defense attorneys — who called the women working for their clients “happy hookers” — also claimed victory, adding that they planned to appeal the convictions.

The verdict “recognizes that people have free will and the right to make choices whether or not you like those choices,” David Epstein, the son’s attorney, said of the prostitutes.

The loving relationship between pimps and prostitutes “was vindicated,” Epstein added. “It’s a moral victory as well as a legal one.”

Prosecutors had alleged the prostitutes made as much as $500,000 a year for the Georges but got only a few dollars a night themselves and had no bank accounts or property. They were threatened with beatings when they didn’t bring in as much money as expected or were late to check in, according to wiretap conversations played at trial.

“Bring me my (expletive) money right now and get your ass back to work,” the son said to one woman.

The women painted a different picture, saying they were treated to nice cars, vacations in Florida and affection from their pimps. Some lived together as “family” in a house in Allentown, Pa., about 90 miles from New York, and drove in to the city at night to turn tricks for $300 a night, they said.

One witness, Heather Keith, has Vincent George Jr.’s nickname, King Koby, tattooed on her neck. She testified she was a drug-addicted 19-year-old stripper from upstate. He moved her to Allentown and helped her beat a cocaine habit, she said.

“I would say that I make my own choices,” said Keith, now 26. “I am not a dumb person. I know what I’m doing.”